EuroCup: Visitors rule Game 1 of semifinals
The 2013 EuroCup competition entered into its semifinal round on Wednesday with Game 1 of both legs being contested. It was a night for the traveling teams as both games ended up going to the visitors by 10 points, setting up Game 2 in each semifinal series on the home courts of the series leaders. Malcolm Delaney did everything he could for host BC Budivelnik Kiev, scoring 38 points and racking up a PIR of an incredibly 47, but it just wasn’t enough to stop Lamont Hamilton (26 points) and the Uxue Bilbao Baskets, who build their advantage in the second half and ended up with a 10-spot in their favor to start Game 2 with. Justin Doellman netted 28 for Valencia Baskets, but the first game went to visiting club PBC Lokomotiv Kuban, who got 23 points from Simas Jasaitis, including a EuroCup record seven three-pointers, and almost put up three figures while outlasting their hosts 87:97 in Game 1.
The second match will be held next week with Kuban hosting Valencia on Tues., Mar. 26, and Bilbao opening their doors to Budivelnik Kiev on Wed., Mar. 27.
GROUP A
BC Budivelnik Kiev – Uxue Bilbao Basket, 83:93
The hosts got a 38-point game from Delaney, but Uxue Bilbao Basket got 26 from Hamilton and grabbed a 10-point advantaged in their two-game semifinal series with BC Budivelnik Kiev. The second game will be held next Tuesday, March 26th in Spain.
Bilbao opened the semis going inside and pounding in six while Budivelnik started with the long-ball. Delaney got his night off to a good start dropping in 13. Kostas Vasiliadis pumped in seven points in just over a minute and a half, and Bilbao found themselves up 19:20 at the end of the first.
The hosts got the first six of the second to retake the lead early on. Adrien Moerman found is spot and connected on consecutive triples, knotting the contest at 30. Delaney took over for Budivelnik and netted six unanswered of his own to put the hosts back up by five, 40:35. Bilbao fought back through the end of the frame, and Alex Mumbru canned a triple at the buzzer to close out the first half with Bilbao up 44:48.
Bilbao went on a 2:11 run early in the second half to give the visitors a 53:65 lead. Delaney continued racking up points from all spots on the court, including connecting on this 10th straight charity toss. At the end of the third, the Spanish club held a 61:71 advantage heading into the final 10.
Budivelnik tightened up their defense and picked up the pace on offense, meaning the Delaney was tallying more points while cutting the lead to five, 70:75. As Delaney’s totals added up, he also found himself the owner of two EuroCup semifinals records, total points (38) and free throws (14 of 16). Unfortunately for the hosts, even Delaney’s record-breaking performance couldn’t turn things around for them and as Bilbao’s Niko Zisis was dropping in their third last minute three-pointers, they grabbed the early 83:93 lead heading into game 2.
Hamilton’s 26 led the way for Bilbao, and he added 8 rebounds to the performance to finish with a PIR of 28. Vasiliadis contributed 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Zisis and Mumbru added 14 points, while Mumbru also dished off 7 assists on the night.
Delaney had a career night for Budivelnik with 38 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 47. Dainius Salenga added 11 points.
GROUP B
Valencia Basket – PBC Lokomotiv Kuban, 87:97
Game 1 of the second semifinal group also ended with a EuroCup semifinals record as PBC Lokomotiv Kuban’s Jasaitis connected on seven three-pointers to help his club take a 10-point advantage into Game 2 with an 87:97 victory in Spain. Valencia got 28 from Doellman, who was instrumental in helping bring the hosts back from down 19 to within four in the final seconds of the contest, but came up on the short end of the score with a 10-point deficit to overcome in Game 2 if they want to make it to the finals.
Kuban got things started quickly going on a 2:11 run early in the contest to get up 5:13, but Valencia was able to counter and get back to within three. The guests again ran off some unanswered points and built an eight-point lead that they ended up with at the end of the quarter, 21:29.
The hosts once again reeled Kuban in and trailed by only three early in the second. The yo-yo lead continued as Kuban then pushed back to a seven-point margin, only to have it cut again, this time to one, 38:39. By the time the half was over the visitors still held the lead, but it was tight, 43:45.
Valencia got the lead back early in the third with a triple and a fast break giving the hosts a 48:47 lead. Shortly after Kuban went on a 0:9 run to get up by 10, 52:62. The guests got their rhythm and started pulling away as the lid fell on the Valencia basket and Kuban took an 18-point lead into the final 10, 58:76.
Doellman got the first five points of the fourth to cut the gap to 13, 63:76, but Kuban countered with a 2:8 run that extended the lead to 19, 65:84. As the game clock wound down Kuban found it difficult to score, while Doellman and Pau Ribas were able to whittle away the bulk of the deficit as they got to within eight with while being under two minutes from the final horn, 83:91. Rodrigo San Miguel snagged an errant pass and took it in for a lay-up and Doellman added to his tally with a shot in the paint to pull the hosts to within four, 87:91. Jasaitis found his sweet spot the last two touches he had in the game and sliced the cords on back-to-back triples to hold off the hard charging Valencia to get back up 10 as the horn sounded on the end.
Jasaitis finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, and a PIR of 33. Derrick Brown added 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots, and a PIR of 26. Mantas Kalnietis contributed 17 points and 4 assists, Richard Hendrix dropped in 14 points, and added 4 rebounds.
Doellman’s 28 was game-high for Valencia, he also added 4 rebounds, and had a PIR of 30 on the night. Ribas dropped in 20, and Bojan Dubljevic contributed 17.